GLEN Kamara was delighted to finally make his Southend United debut on Saturday – five years after first signing for the Shrimpers.

The on-loan Arsenal midfielder was with Blues during his youth before returning to Roots Hall from the Gunners last month.

And he was thrilled to finally get on to the pitch at the weekend to help Phil Brown’s side beat local rivals Colchester United 3-0.

“It was nice to finally make my debut for Southend,” said Kamara.

“It’s been an unusual route for it to happen as I came here as a 15-year-old before going to Arsenal and then coming back on loan.

"But I’m really happy it’s happened and it’s even better that we were able to get the three points in a local derby.

“It was certainly a great game to start off with.”

Kamara, who had been on the bench for the first two games after signing, replaced the injured Ryan Leonard at half-time.

And the 20-year-old was pleased by his performance in the centre of the park.

“I saw a lot of the ball, certainly a lot more than I was expecting but it was good and I was quite happy with how I played,” said Kamara.

“Colchester were down to 10 men when I came on so we had a lot of possession but I did keep looking at the clock wondering if we were going to get the goal.

“But thankfully we did and were able to add a couple more to make it even better.”

The victory kept Blues seventh in the League One standings.

And Kamara is now keen to play a prominent part in helping Phil Brown’s side make the play-offs.

“Hopefully I can push on and try to get a few starts now,” said Kamara, whose contract at Arsenal expires at the end of the season.

“As a team we want to try and get into the play-offs and I want to do all I can to help that happen.”